Broken Dawn (Immortal Guardians, #10)

by Dianne Duvall

Delve into an exciting new stand-alone novel in New York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall's "fast-paced and humorous" (Publishers Weekly), "utterly addictive" (RT Book Reviews) Immortal Guardians series.

Nick Belanger can't stop thinking about the single mother who lives next door. She's smart. She's funny. She's so beautiful he can't stare at her too long for fear his eyes will start to glow. But Kayla thinks he's just an ordinary guy who works in security. Finding out he instead is a powerful immortal warrior who hunts and slays psychotic vampires for a living may not go over well, particularly since she has a daughter she doesn't want to endanger.

Kayla Dorman can keep neither her gaze nor her thoughts from straying to the man next door. Who can blame her really? He is the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome with smart, charming, and honorable thrown in. He's also a few years younger than her and surely would not be interested in a single mom who hasn't dated since her divorce. At least that's what she thinks until an accident nearly takes her life and Nick risks all to save her.

The dynamics of their relationship swiftly change. The friendship they've developed over the years deepens into love as the two spend every minute they can together, laughing and teasing, never suspecting a threat may lurk in the shadows. But that threat soon strikes, making it clear that Nick is the target and his enemy doesn't care if Kayla gets caught in the cross fire. Though Kayla bravely rises to the occasion and is determined to do whatever it takes to help Nick defeat his enemy, Nick is terrified of losing her. Can he identify and eliminate his new nemesis before the man takes everything from him?

• ISBN10: 1734555637
• ISBN13: 9781734555639
• Publish Date: 15 June 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Dianne Duvall
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 282
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Broken Dawn by Dianne Duvall is the tenth book in the exciting Immortal Guardian series. A series filled with passion, action, suspense and danger. One of the good things about this series is that each installment works well as a stand-alone. Broken Dawn is no different. The world created by Duvall is one where immortal males who radiate power and intense sex appeal  find their mates in equally powerful and sexy females. No matter what stage of the series one begins the journey, expect to be enamoured by the characters and world Duvall created. 

The events in Broken Dawn picks up from where Death of Darkness ended. With the threat the Immortal Guardians faced in the previous books neutralised, hunting vampires now have their sole focus. Now while the events in the previous books took place in North Carolina,  Broken Dawn is set in Texas.

This installment introduces readers to Nick and Kayla.  Nick is a 400 year old Immortal Guardian who has a crush on his next door neigbour, Kayla. A crush he harboured ever since the divorced, single mother moved next door six years ago. However, because of the dangerous nature of his job and the need to keep his nature a secret dating her is not an option. However, when danger lurked in the shadows, threatening Kayla's life, hiding his feelings was no longer an option. With the help of his Immortal Guardian family Nick does all in his power to protect the woman he loves.

The chemistry Nick and Kayla shared was off the charts. For readers who dislike insta love love romances, this one may not ne for you. Because like most paranormal romances the relationship between the main characters developed rather quickly. Their banter had me smiling throughout the story. Nick was a swoonworthy hero and Kayla was cool as a cucumbr in the face of danger. One cannot help but admire her strength.

Although not as fast paced or action packed like the previous books, Broken Dawn was still an exciting read. The suspense thread made for some interesting moments. It highlights the reason the Immortal Guardians need to keep their abilities hidden from the human world.

Kirsten Potter continues to narrate the series and like always she does an exemplary job. Her voices are spot on, accents and all.  She portrays the characters' emotions superbly thus adding life to the story. This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

[EBookObsessed]

Broken Dawn has the perfect balance of characters, world building and thrills to delight die hard fans and attract newbies to the series.

Nick Belanger has had a secret crush on his next-door-neighbor, Kayla Dorman, since she and her young daughter moved in six years ago. Nick isn’t keeping his crush a secret because he is too shy. No one ever accused him of that. Nick knows that any relationship with Kayla would need to include the level of honesty that an Immortal Guardian can’t share with just anyone. It would not just be Nick of suffers if Kayla reacted badly to the news.

But when Kayla ends up in the the hospital with life threatening injuries, Nick starts calling in favors throughout the Immortals and their network of humans to save Kayla’s life. Considering how badly Kayla was injured, Nick knows he won’t be able to get away with “it really wasn’t that bad” and will have to explain how her injuries were miraculously healed.

No one in Nick’s past ever reacted well to the fact that he is different, although, unlike Roland Warbrooks, no one tried to actually kill him because of it. Yet for the first time in centuries, Nick is hopeful that if Kayla can accept Nick’s differences, they might be able to take that next step into a real relationship.

But as we know, there is a downside to being Immortal and while at the hospital, Nick bumps into a former acquaintance from the 1960s who insists that he knows who Nick is and wants to know how he has remained to young. This man is sick and desperate and he isn’t accepting for any of the usual story which the Network has prepared for these instances about family resemblances.

This was our first look at the Dallas crew of Immortal Guardians. Ooooo. On the plus side, we get to meet Eliana, who is Nick’s partner and who I already was loving in the few preview pages tucked in after The Lasarian. We spend a lot of time with Nick and Eliana while they are hunting vampires and spending down time with Kayla, so we really get to know her personality. I already love her. Now I am even more excited to read the second book in that series.

Nick and Kayla were sweet and this gives us a nice romance to break up all that vampire killing, kidnapping intrigue and action sequences.

On the down side was that except for Nick, Eliana, Nick’s Second, Oliver, and the head of the Dallas Network, we really didn’t meet anyone else from Texas. What? Any help that Nick had during this story came from our usual friends in North Carolina. Yeah okay, maybe it is a lot to ask for to meet an entire new crew and get to know them in the space of a novella while still trying to tell the story of Nick and Kayla, but there certainly could have been a healer or a telepath or teleporter that Nick could have contacted in his own backyard. Yes, everyone’s default contact is Seth, but Seth could have assigned locals to handle the things he used the North Carolina crew to do. I would imagine the Dallas people have a place to go just like David’s house for emergencies or to plan their evenings hunts or just to get together, and Nick should have some friends among them. I don’t even believe we learned Eliana’s special ability in this story except that she obviously isn’t a healer, a telepath or a teleporter and even Eliana’s second was on vacation after the happenings of Seth’s book and we don’t get to meet him. I am sure part of the reason we didn’t meet anyone else is because the fans would have immediately starting harassing Dianne about “When are we going to get Bob’s story. He seems so funny/angry/lonely…” and I can only imagine that those demands can get annoying when you are already juggling other stories in your head.

Because of the change of scenery, this novella can be a standalone and works great for anyone unfamiliar with the Immortal Guardians who just wants a taste before they take on the entire series plus spinoffs.

I was offered a review audiobook from Tantor Audio and this was my first audiobook attempt at this series. I think Kirsten Potter did a wonderful job and I was enjoying the story, so much so that I gardened for hours and hours while distracted by the story and I could barely move the next day. Usually I am die hard about sticking with either reading a series or audobooking (is that a word?) a series. But because this story involved mostly, Nick, Kayla, her daughter and Oliver, I didn’t have any problems switching formats until Seth showed up and when I heard his voice, my brain started screaming “no, no, no, no” because I have already cast this entire series in my head and his voice wasn’t what I was expecting.

Broken Dawn is a great addition to the series and is perfect for anyone who wants to give the Immortal Guardians a try and see what they are all about.

Received an ARC from Tantor in exchange for an honest review.

See more at EBookObsessed.com

[kimbacaffeinate]

The story picks up after the events of Death of Darkness and while some threads connect, the story and romance will work as standalone. Although I can assure you from personal experience, you’ll be racing to grab the previous released books.

Divorcee Kayla Dorman and her daughter live next door to Nick and Oliver. Nick has crushed on her since they moved in and even with Kayla’s daughter away at college he hasn’t made a move. She thinks he is a security guard and hasn’t a clue Immortals, vampires and gifted ones exist.

Kayla fantasizes about how Nick’s lips would taste, but why would the sexy, tall hottie next door have any interest in her, besides he has a girl. Or does he?

I loved the chemistry and banter between these two. I swooned and laughed as our story opened. A missed appointment changes everything and forces the two to spend time together. I loved it all from the telling to the hot teasing.

A desperate and powerful man from Nick’ past emerges and places them in danger. The tension increased with every dangerous scene; as did the feelings these two shared. I loved the interaction with other Immortals and Seth.

When Oliver and Kayla were in trouble, Kayla was level-headed and kick-ass. All of Duvall’s female characters have an inner strength and fight to them. Kayla is no different. Seeing her defend those stronger than her made me grin. Her daughter was a hoot too. I loved her talk with Nick.

Kirsten Potter does a stellar job with the narration. Her male voices, accents, and emotions were brings is spot on. I plan on continuing listening to Duvall’s books on audio. Her writing style lends itself well to audio and the narrators add an extra swoon to the telling. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer